Craig, Mata earn titles at 2011 Mountain Bike Marathon Nationals

Adam Craig leads Carl Decker on the way out.

Bend, Ore. (Sept. 17, 2011)— It was a day for the locals as Bend residents took Stars-and-Stripes jerseys in five of the 14 categories at the 2011 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships. This included the men’s pro race, where Adam Craig (Bend, OR/ Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team) edged another Bend resident, Carl Decker (Bend, OR/Giant Factory Off-Road Team), by just 12 seconds. It was a different story in the women’s pro race as Pua Mata (Anaheim, CA/Team Sho-Air) rode away from the field to win by more than four minutes.

Craig and Decker rode together for the majority of the race, widening a gap from the rest of the field that ended up being more than 10 minutes at the finish line. The battle for third was taken in a sprint to the line by Sam Schultz (Missoula, MT/Subaru-Trek), who bested two-time defending champion Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, CO/Subaru-Trek) by just four seconds. For Craig it is his third national title of 2011; at the Mountain Bike Cross-country Nationals he won both the all-mountain title and the super D with Decker as runner-up. Craig is also the reigning singlespeed cyclo-cross national champion.

The top woman in this year’s Pro Ultra-Endurance Tour, Mata handily won the women’s pro title. Kelli Emmett (Colorado Springs, CO/ Giant Factory Off-Road Team) finished second, more than five minutes ahead of two-time defending champ Heather Irmiger (Boulder, CO/Subaru-Trek).

Age Group Winners

Partly sunny skies and temperatures in the high 50s to low 60s meant ideal racing weather for the more than 200 competitors. This proved to be a fortunate break for the riders, who had to contend with a tough 52-mile course that offered few places to relax and required an almost constant effort.

Convincing victories highlighted the 19-29 age groups, with Carson Miller (Bend, OR/Jelly Belly Presented By Kenda) earning the men’s title and Rose Grant (Kalispell, MT/Sportsman & Ski Haus) taking victory as well as the distinction of being the fastest non-professional female competitor.

Ty Kady (Brea, CA) won the 30-34 men’s race to claim his third Stars-and-Stripes jersey of 2011, which include wins in mountain bike cross-country and short track cross-country earned in Sun Valley, Idaho, this past July. Benjamin Thompson (Bend, OR) rode to victory in the men’s 35-39 race, while Lisa Curry (Bozeman, MT/ Gallatin Alpine Sports/Intrinsik Architecture Cycling Team) won the women’s 30-39 age group.

In the largest field of the event, Dario Fredrick (San Anselmo, CA/Whole Athlete-Specialized) bested 45 riders to become the new men’s 40-49 champion. Erika Krumpelman (Hayden, ID/Velo Bella) rode to the title in the women’s 40-49 race.

Pua Mata celebrates her victory in the women's pro race.

Scott Seaton (Bend, OR) 3:48:23 won one of the closer masters races of the day, taking the men’s 50-59 victory by less than a minute. On the women’s side of that age group, Muffy Ritz (Ketchum, ID/Mud Honey Cycling) took the top podium spot.

The only 2010 champion to successfully defend his title, Dwight Hibdon (Park City, UT/Mad Dog Cycles Race Team) rode to his second straight men’s 60+ Stars-and-Stripes jersey.

Cary Smith (Jackson, WY) earned his second singlespeed national championship of the year, adding to his mountain bike cross-country win in July. Alice Drobna (Bend, OR) donned the Stars-and-Stripes in the singlespeed women’s category.

Visit the official USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships webpage for more information, including complete results and a photo gallery.

FULL RESULTS | PHOTO GALLERY

2011 USA Cycling Mountain Bike Marathon National Championships
Bend, Oregon
September 17, 2011

Pro Men

1. Adam Craig (Bend, OR/ Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team) 3:10:16
2. Carl Decker (Bend, OR/Giant Factory Off-Road Team) 3:10:28
3. Sam Schultz (Missoula, MT/Subaru-Trek) 3:20:50
4. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Boulder, CO/Subaru-Trek) 3:20:54
5. Colin Cares (Boulder, CO/ Kenda/Felt) 3:21:18

Pro Women

1. Pua Mata (Anaheim, CA/Team Sho-Air) 3:38:58
2. Kelli Emmett (Colorado Springs, CO/ Giant Factory Off-Road Team) 3:43:28
3. Heather Irmiger (Boulder, CO/Subaru-Trek) 3:48:57
4. Amanda Carey (Victor, ID) 3:59:41
5. Jana Repulski (Boise, ID) 4:07:59

Men 19-29

1. Carson Miller (Bend, OR/Jelly Belly Presented By Kenda) 3:31:12
2. Jafer Beizer (Conyers, GA/TBB Sports) 3:44:47
3. Connor McCutcheon (Bigbearlake, CA) 3:48:09
4. Michael Stearns (Bozeman, MT/Montana State University-Bozeman) 3:52:01
5. Matt Deshazo (Arcata, CA) 3:53:18

Women 19-29

1. Rose Grant (Kalispell, MT/Sportsman & Ski Haus) 4:13:53
2. Holly Horner (Oviedo, FL) 5:08:45
3. Elizabeth Lee (Martinez, GA) 5:09:04
4. Petra Davis (Bozeman, MT) 5:30:00
5. Merrill Oakley (Spokane, WA) 6:05:10

Men 30-34

1. Ty Kady (Brea, CA) 3:30:01
2. Marco Arocha (Newbury Park, CA/Team Velosport Club) 3:43:10
3. Casey Hill (Denver, CO) 3:44:41
4. Joel Shehan (Kalispell, MT/Sportsman & Ski Haus) 3:44:47
5. Shawn Rader (Hillsboro, OR) 3:47:55

Men 35-39

1. Benjamin Thompson (Bend, OR) 3:32:58
2. Eric Bostrom (Las Vegas, NV) 3:39:46
3. Dustin Phillips (Kalispell, MT/Team Hammer Nutrition) 3:42:52
4. Oliver Hutchinson (West Hills, CA/ 8th Wonder Cycling/Team Helen's) 3:43:45
5. Dan Ourada (Sunriver, OR) 3:54:28

Women 30-39

1. Lisa Curry (Bozeman, MT/ Gallatin Alpine Sports/Intrinsik Architecture Cycling Team) 4:15:05
2. Jamie Busch (Los Gatos, CA) 4:21:58
3. Sarah Max (Bend, OR) 4:24:57
4. Elizabeth Carrington (Poway, CA) 4:44:53
5. Kellie Wirth (Boise, ID/Wild Rockies Inc) 4:47:22

Men 40-49

1. Dario Fredrick (San Anselmo, CA/Whole Athlete-Specialized) 3:36:04
2. Ross Delaplane (Golden, CO/Feedback Sports Racing) 3:39:08
3. Donald Myrah (San Jose, CA) 3:40:08
4. Chuck Ross (Auburn, CA/ SHO-AIR/SERT) 3:40:30
5. Bruce Rogers (Bend, OR) 3:41:25

Women 40-49

1. Erika Krumpelman (Hayden, ID/Velo Bella) 4:16:31
2. Heidi Volpe (Topanga, CA) 4:27:17
3. Karoline Droege (Ketchum, ID/Mud Honey Cycling) 4:30:31
4. Lynn Stott (Boise, ID/Wild Rockies Race Team) 4:36:58
5. Cherie Touchette (Bend, OR/ Webcyclery Racing/webcyclery.com) 4:38:36

Men 50-59

1. Scott Seaton (Bend, OR) 3:48:23
2. Russell Kappius (Littleton, CO) 3:49:05
3. Mark Gouge (Colorado Springs, CO/ Justin's/Titus Mountain Bike Team) 3:54:24
4. Timothy Wykle (Trinidad, CA) 4:02:43
5. Randy Beckner (Helena, MT/Montana Velo) 4:02:54

Women 50-59

1. Muffy Ritz (Ketchum, ID/Mud Honey Cycling) 4:38:28
2. Lori Smith (Boise, ID/Wild Rockies Race Team) 4:43:31
3. Ellen Guthrie (Salt Lake City, UT/Revolution Cafe Rio) 4:46:59
4. Victoria Wiseman (Ketchum, ID/Mud Honey Cycling) 5:24:39
5. Sheli Thomas (Kalispell, MT/Flathead Cycling) 5:42:04

Men 60+

1. Dwight Hibdon (Park City, UT/Mad Dog Cycles Race Team) 4:18:17
2. Don Leet (Bend, OR/Bend Endurance Academy) 4:20:08
3. Dan Meyer (Lake Elmo, MN/Loon State Cyclists) 4:29:24
4. Gary Myers (Golden, CO) 4:43:04
5. Randy Bowman (Pleasanton, CA/ East Bay Cyclists/Infovista Cycling Team) 4:48:44

Singlespeed Women

1. Alice Drobna (Bend, OR) 5:00:16

Singlespeed Men

1. Cary Smith (Jackson, WY) 3:29:09
2. Evan Plews (Salem, OR) 3:30:35
3. Cody Peterson (Bend, OR) 3:36:00
4. Dax Massey (Boulder, CO/Honey Stinger) 3:40:56
5. Ryan Voss (Waterford, WI) 4:01:56